Leonardo’s face, reimagined in chicken

Introducing Rakewell, Apollo’s wandering eye on the art world. Look out for regular posts taking a rakish perspective on art and museum stories

The 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo has inspired no end of commemorations, with major exhibitions, events and books – not to mention a diplomatic row between Italy and France. Getting into the spirit of things, the British restaurant chain Bella Italia has decided to celebrate the milestone in its own inimitable way: by commissioning an artist to reconfigure the master’s face using – yes – pasta, cheese and other foodstuffs.

Food artist Carl Warner’s take on ‘Leonardo da Vinci’s famous self-portrait’ – or rather, on a portrait that hangs in the Vasari Corridor in Florence and, erm, was painted long after Leonardo’s death – is a veritable tour of the deli counter, with ‘eyes made of mozzarella and olives’, ‘Parma ham lips’ and ‘two types of spaghetti for the beard’. The hapless artist’s countenance, meanwhile, is reimagined as a ‘chicken breast and fettucine pasta face’. Vast supper, anyone?

Leonardo da Vinci (or not). Bella Italia

Got a story for Rakewell? Get in touch at rakewell@apollomag.com or via @Rakewelltweets.